Rotary sickle for mowing and reapingjmachines



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. A. DAVIS. ROTARY SIOKLE FOR MOWING AND REAPING MACHINES.

Patented May 17,1898.

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J. A. DAVIS.

ROTARY SIOKLE FOR MOWING AND REAPING MACHINES.

Patented May 17, 1898.

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(No Model.)

J. A. DAVIS. ROTARY SIGKLE FOR MOWING AND REAPING MACHINES.

No. 604,189. Patented May 17,1898.

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NlTE STATES ATENT FFICE.

JOHN A. DAVIS, OF DESERT LAKE, UTAH, ASSIGNOR OF TWO-THIRDS TO GEORGEIPSON, OF HUNTINGTON, AND HARRY WADE AND EUGENE MIL LER,-OF CASTLE GATE,UTAH.

ROTARY SICKLE FOR MOWING- AND REAPING MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 604,189, dated May 17,1898. Application filed April 29, 1897. Serial No. 634,426. (No model.)

To ail whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OHN A. DAvIs, a citizen of the United States,residing at Desert Lake, in the county of Emery and State of Utah, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Sickles forMowing and Reaping Machines; and I do declare the following to be afull, clear, and'exactdescription of the invention, such as will enableoth- IO ers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same.

My invention has relation to rotary sickles for mowing and reapingmachines; and the object is to provide a simple and effective device forthis purpose.

To this end the novelty consists in the construction, combination, andarrangement of the same, as will be hereinafter more fully described,and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings the same reference characters indicate thesame parts of the invention.

Figure 1 is a top plan view, partly in sec- 2 5 tion, of my improvedsickle-bar. Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the line a a of Fig. 1.-Fig. 3 is a similar view on the line Z? Z) of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 isa'longitudinal section through the line 0 c of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a sideeleva- 0 tion of the adjustable counter-shaft. Fig. 6 is a longitudinalsection of the main driving shaft or axle, and Fig. 7 is a detail of theindependent right and left hand threaded wormscrew sleeves that give theforward motion to 5 the carrying-wheel. Fig. Sis an enlarged detail viewof the clutch mechanism for operating the carrying-wheel.

1 and 2 represent the ground-wheels, fixed on the horizontal axle 3.This axle is pro- 0 vided with a longitudinal key 4, which engages akeyway 5 in the sleeve 6, encompassing said axle and having a limitedend play between the collars 7 7 on said axle.

8 represents a collar fixed on the sleeve 6 45 and formed with arectangular circumferential groove 9, which engages the forked end of ahand-lever 10, by means of which the sleeve is reciprocated and lockedat either end of its stroke.

12 13 represent parallel bevel gear-Wheels fixed on the outer ends ofsaid sleeve and rotating with it.

14 represents a horizontal shaft journaled in bearing-boxes suitablyfixed in the frame, and its rear end carries a fixed bevel gearwheel 15,arranged to alternately mesh with the bevel-gears 12 and 13.

16 represents a gimbal-joint connecting the outer end of the shaft 1 1with the inner end of the adjustable counter-shaft 17, the forward endof which is connected by a gimbaljoint 18 with the rear end of the fixedshaft 19, journaled in bearing-boxes 2O 20, secured to the inner end ofthe sickle-bar frame 21. This shaft 19 is provided with a fixedsprocketwheel 22, which engages the inner loop of the endlesssprocket-chain 23, the outer end of which encompasses a sprocket-wheel24, fixed on the transverse counter-shaft 25, journaled in bearings 2626, secured to the outer end of the sickle-frame. The counter-shaft isprovided with a sleeve A, which carries two parallel pivoted pawls B Band a mutilated collar O, which may be rotated on the countershaft 25 toengage or release either of the pawls B or B to throw one or the otherof them in or out of engagement with the beveled ratchet-gear D, fixedon the alined shaft E, and said shaft 25 is provided with a detachableright hand worm-sleeve 26, secured thereto by the thumb-screw 2'7 andwhich meshes with the worm-wheel 28 on the longitudinal counter-shaft29, journaled in the sickle-bar frame and provided on its outer end withthe carrying-wheel 30, to which motion is imparted in the direction inwhich the machine is traveling. This construction serves to allow themachine to back as well as make turns to the right and, left handwithout derangement.

34 34 represent a series of vertical spindles extending through theupper and lower plates 35 36, which form the sickle-bar frame 21, andthey are removably secured thereto by the hemispherical nuts 37.-

38 39 represent the upper and lower cuttingdisks, formed with radialfingers 40, having diagonal knife-edges 41 41. These disks are formedWith square hubs 42, having central circular orifices 43, which form abearing for said disks on the spindles 34, and 44 45 represent plainspur gear-wheels having central square orifices 46 to receive the squarehub 42 on the cutter-disks.

The sprocket-chain 23 consists of a series of en rectangular links 47,the contiguous pai.-llel arms of which are hinged together by thesleeves 48 to form an endless chain, and the forward end of each link isprovided with a series of integral gear-teeth 11, corresponding to andmeshing with the teeth on the gear-wheels 44 45, and when bevelgearwheel 15 is in mesh with the gear 12 on the axle the upper parallelline of the sprocketchain travels outward to the end of the sprocket-barframe and the lower parallel line of the chain travels inwardly towardthe shaft 19. This motion of the sprocket-chain causes the gear-teeth onthe chain to rapidly rotate the upper series of cutter-disks to the leftand the lower series to the right, as shown by the arrows in 1.

When the bevel gear-wheel 15 is released from the gear-wheel 12 andthrown into gear .with the opposite wheel 13, the motion 'of the shaft19 is reversed. Consequently the sprocket-chain travels in the directionopposite toits formermotion, reversing the direction of thecutting-disks, and at the same time the right-hand worm-sleeve 26 isremoved and replaced by the left-hand wormsleeve 31 to rotate thecarrying-wheel 33 in the same direction in which the machine istraveling, at the same time the position of the mutilated collar 0 isreversed, so as to throw the pawl B out of engagement with theratchet-gearD and release the pawl 13, so that it will engage said gear.

49 50 represent a series of horizontal guidewheels mounted on verticalspindles 51, secured in the sickle-bar frame by nuts 52 52 and separatedby a bearing-washer 53. These guide-wheels are provided with radialparallel flanges 54 54, which form rotating bearings for the rear edgeof the sprocket-chain, and as one set of these guide-wheels is arrangedimmediately in the rear of and in the same plane with the set ofcutting-disks they also serve as bearing-guards to keep the teeth on theopposite edge of the chain in mesh with the spur-gears 44 45.

The usual guard-fingers extend forward from the sickle-bar frame, andthey are located intermediate each contiguous set of cutting-disks todivide the stalks and deflect them on either side to the action of thecutting-blades. I

Although I have specifically described the construction and relativearrangement of the several elements of my invention, I do not desire tobe confined to the same, as such changes or modifications may be made asclearly fall within the scope of myinvention without departing from thespirit thereof.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A mowing and reaping machine comprising the main axle provided with alongitudinal key 4, and collars 7 7, the sleeve 6 formed with the keyway5, and provided with the oppositely-disposed fixed bevel-gears 12 13,the shaft 14, the bevel gear-wheel 15, mounted on said shaft and adaptedto alternately engage the gear-wheels 12 13, the shaft 19 in operativeconnection with said shaft 14, and provided with the sprocket-wheel 22,the parallel shaft 25 the sprocket-wheel 24 mounted thereon, and theendless sprocket-chain 23 encompassing said sprocket-wheels, andprovided with a series of gear-teeth in combination with thecutting-disks 38 39 arranged one above the other and provided withrectangular hubs 42 and the spur gear-wheels 44 45 having rectangularorifices 46 to receive the hubs of said disks, substantially as shownand described.

2. A mowing and reaping machine comprising a sickle-bar frame providedwith a carrying-wheel on its outer end and means substantially asdescribed for imparting a continuous rotary motion to said wheelindependent of its contact with the ground, as and for the purpose setforth.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

JOHN A. DAVIS.

Witnesses:

JOE A. YOUNG, A. P. JoHNsoN.

